'Suspicious' white powder causes Watsonville PD evacuation

WATSONVILLE &GT;&GT; Unidentified white powder sent through the mail caused an evacuation for about two hours from the Watsonville Police Department Wednesday.

The suspicious white powder, sealed in a plastic bag, was delivered to a city business Tuesday, and taken into possession by police the next day, said police Deputy Chief Terry Traub.

The investigating officer brought the powder back to the police department for booking into evidence, where a department technician followed normal procedures that involved calling in a hazardous material team and evacuating the building, Traub said.

"It was all precautionary," Traub said. "Because it was powder and came through the mail and there was no note, it was suspicious."

The material, not ultimately believed to be hazardous, was destroyed apparently without testing, Traub said.

If the suspicious product had been open, leaking or giving off fumes, for example, officers would have dealt with the hazardous material at its point of origin, Traub said.